[SCA-Dance] The Future of KWDS, part 2

[Mary Railing]

[This is the second half of my notes from the "Future of KWDS" roundtable. It is 
a much more random list of suggestions that were made for future events 
--Urraca]


Future of KWDS, part 2-- What should be different?
 
Ruffina would rather not have the music track because she would rather not have 
to choose between playing music and dancing. This was a controversial 
suggestion. Deonna would rather have it. Urraca pointed out that, just as the 
amount of emphasis placed on the Middle Eastern track has varied from year to 
year, the amount of emphasis on music classes at KWDS could vary.  There is no 
Known World Music Symposium. We could also try to promote a music event. Ruffina 
noted that a big problem with a national music event is the difficulty of flying 
with instruments. Is it possible to have instrument rental? Further research 
would be necessary.
 
Someone suggested having a non-class stretching room in the morning before 
classes start. 

 
Urraca asked whether people felt the event was too expensive. The consensus 
seemed to be that the convenience of being in one building was worth the cost. 
Cheap food options helped balance the hotel expense. Urraca asked whether the 
dorm option was needed. Some felt it was worthwhile. 

 
The fact that ACCEPS only accepts US credit cards is a problem. People would 
really like to use Paypal. Urraca noted that the SCA is very against Paypal. 
Someone said that some of the issues Paypal had a few years ago have been 
changed. The Society MoAS said she would tell the BoD people want to be allowed 
to use Paypal, but she has no financial experience to speak from. Someone else 
said that from an IT perspective Pay Pal has security issues. It can't conform 
to SCA accounting standards. Canadians are used to workarounds. Can we have a 
different system for international registrations?
 
People liked the wooden floors and the ballroom space. The class size was good. 
There was a good mix of genres. People liked that there was new research 
presented.
 
Some people felt that the ball sets were badly mixed. This was to accommodate 
the loud band. Some people like having sets that include different styles of 
dance, so someone who doesn’t do a certain style doesn’t have to sit out too 
many dances in a row. Other people liked the idea of theme sets that are all one 
genre. There was some concern that that the ball not be based too much on the 
classes because no one can take all the classes, but other people said they like 
to be able to see the dances that were taught in the classes they didn’t take. 
It feels different to dance in a ball, not a class.
 
Several people said that class descriptions should have a difficulty level 
listed, but that can be hard to determine. List prerequisites, such as needing 
to know Italian steps. Someone suggested using a check box system to get 
teachers to answer specific questions about their class, like energy level, 
steps needed, etc. List the names of the dances that will be taught in a class.
 
There was some discussion of when to put the more difficult/tiring dances. Some 
said they should be early in the day, but not everyone is a morning person. A 
bell curve for energy level was suggested. Others said it is better to put 
harder classes on the first day, before people are too worn out.
 
Some people wanted a beginners’ track that was labeled as such. Others felt that 
you should have a beginners track, but that it shouldn’t be called that. A 
beginners’ track should include all genres. Step class at the beginning of both 
Friday and Saturday was suggested. There should be beginner dances in the ball.
 
There should be a one day price and a ball-only price.
 
It was good that there wasn’t a long court. If royalty want to have court, 
suggest that they do it in chunks during the breaks in the ball, and that they 
be the Presence during the ball. 
 
Darius noted that it is hard to promote KWDS to the Middle Eastern crowd. 
European dance people know to expect this event, but the belly dance community 
is separate. He noted that none of them were in the room for this meeting. 
Invite them to participate in planning. Having a Middle Eastern track requires 
more space. Seattle didn’t have Middle Eastern.
 
If there are different length classes, arrange them so all the tracks have the 
same breaks, so people don’t miss half a class.
 
The lunch break should have been earlier. People liked the long dinner break. It 
was long enough to allow for showering and changing clothes, as well as eating. 
The catered box lunch at the KWDS in Seattle was convenient. Urraca said that we 
could have had a catered lunch, but it was cheaper for people to just eat lunch 
on their own. 

 
It was good to have a passing period.